5.04.2015

Credit cards can carry more than high interest rates—they actually might increase your chances of depression.
It's common sense that high levels of debt can stress you out. Now researchers have found a statistically significant link between short-term household debt, such as credit card debt and overdue bills, and increases in symptoms of depression. The link between depression and debt was strongest among unmarried people, people near retirement and those who are less educated, according to the new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The study also found that, on average, people's depressive symptoms tend to increase as their short-term debt rises.
"Our results suggest that taking on unsecured debt may adversely influence psychological well-being," said Lawrence Berger, the study's lead author and director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Institute for Research on Poverty.